investingLive Asia-Pacific FX news wrap: Asia-Pac equities generally traded higher

• China bans foreign AI chips in state-funded data centres to boost domestic industry
• China prioritises yuan stability over exports as PBOC defends currency
• Annual ECB Conference on Money Markets begins in Frankfurt today, and continues tomorrow
• Japan, U.S. plan joint rare earth mining near Minamitori Island
• Goldman Sachs says Supreme Court likely to curb presidential tariff powers under IEEPA
• Japan to revamp foreign investment law, narrow IT reviews, and close loopholes
• Snap shares rose on $400mn Perplexity AI deal and new AR spin-off
• ICYMI – Morgan Stanley lifts 2026 oil forecast to $60 after OPEC+ output pause
• Toyota, Honda, invest billions to make India new car production hub. Turb away from China.
• PBOC sets USD/ CNY reference rate for today at 7.0865 (vs. estimate at 7.1222)
• Wall Street Journal: “Trump Expresses Reservations Over Strikes in Venezuela to Top Aides”
• Japan junior govmnt partner says early BoJ rate hike would send wrong signal to businesses
• Japan S&P Global Services PMI Final for October 2025 53.1, down from September’s 53.3
• Australian September trade balance comes a touch under expected at +3938mn (4000 expected)
• Axios: Nvidia’s Jensen Huang warns U.S. could lose AI race to China
• Trump is scheduled to make an announcement on Thursday, November 6, 2025 at 1600 GMT
• Yen recovery to ¥147 forecast on BoJ rate hike prospects – eases intervention pressure
• Japanese real wages in September fell 1.4% y/y, down for the ninth month in a row
• ICYMI – OpenAI asks U.S. for loan guarantees to fund $1 trillion AI expansion
• TD Securities expects narrow BoE rate cut, warns sterling to stay weak
• RBNZ’s Hawkesby says rising joblessness within expectations, flags trade risks
• The slashing of flight numbers in the US will include the 30 busiest airports
• BoC Macklem says monetary policy of little use tackling structural changes from US tariffs
• US Transport Secretary has warned that the air system is becoming riskier due to shut down
• JP Morgan CEO Dimon warns markets face downside risk, urges Fed independence
• US major indices rebound some of the losses from yesterday
• US flight chaos worsens – further flights will be cut as shut down continues
• NVIDEA CEO Huang says China will will win the AI race against the US
• investingLive Americas market news wrap: Some rare US data (and it was strong)

It was a day of news and data with limited immediate market impact.

In the U.S., travel and growth could take a hit after the government said it will slash flight numbers from Friday due to the shutdown. Transport Secretary Duffy warned the air system is becoming riskier as a result, with air traffic to be cut by 10%, affecting the 30 busiest airports and more.

In New Zealand, Reserve Bank Governor Christian Hawkesby said the rise in unemployment was broadly in line with expectations, reflecting where the economy sits in the current cycle. Speaking to lawmakers after the Financial Stability Report, he acknowledged conditions were “hard out there” but stressed the financial system remains resilient, even under severe stress scenarios.

Get ready for a new entrant in the “too-big-to-fail” club: OpenAI is seeking U.S. government loan guarantees to help fund more than $1 trillion in AI infrastructure projects. CFO Sarah Friar said federal backing would lower borrowing costs and attract more investors.

Also in AI, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang warned the U.S. risks losing the technology race to China, citing Beijing’s subsidies and unified policies versus America’s fragmented regulations. “China is going to win the AI race,” he told the FT, as relayed by Axios.

From Japan, real wages fell 1.4% y/y in September — the ninth straight decline — highlighting the challenge for the BoJ, though base pay for regular workers rose 2.2%. The data likely keepd the central bank on its only slow and gradual tightening path. Final PMI figures showed the services index at 53.1, maintaining growth for a seventh month, while the composite PMI edged up to 51.5 as services offset weaker factory output.

Japan Innovation Party (the LDP’s junior coalition partner in government) co-leader Hidetaka Fujita warned that an early BoJ rate hike could send mixed signals to businesses and ruled out tax increases to fund the government’s front-loaded defence spending.

The Wall Street Journal reported that President Trump has expressed hesitation about ordering military action to oust Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, fearing strikes might fail to force him out.

In China, the Shanghai Composite climbed back above 4,000, trimming its one-week decline. The CSI Semiconductor Index jumped over 3% after Reuters reported Beijing has banned foreign AI chips from state-funded data centres, hitting Nvidia, AMD and Intel while boosting domestic players like Huawei. The move underscores China’s drive for AI chip self-sufficiency amid ongoing U.S. export curbs.

Elsewhere, Asia-Pac equities generally traded higher, extending Wall Street’s rebound, while major FX was subdued. The USD softened slightly as the JPY, EUR and GBP gained; AUD, NZD and CAD under-performed. Gold edged toward US $4,000, though without testing the level.

Asia-Pac
stocks:

• Japan
  (Nikkei 225) +1.5%
• Hong
  Kong (Hang Seng) +1.64%
• Shanghai
  Composite +0.88%
• Australia
  (S&P/ASX 200) +0.24%

This article was written by Eamonn Sheridan at investinglive.com.